mimetic 
But Kucua, lead by must inimttick apes, 
f'oiiM not -irpiiix''' il'i'i Kneu's antick shapes. 
WhiUifj, Allilno anil Bcllaiua, p. 9. (Sam.) 
Brotherhoods uf actors, ambitious of displaying their 
mimetic faculty to their townsfolk. 
/. If Israeli, Amen, of Lit., I. 393. 
2. Imitating: imitative. Specifically (a) In z 1. 
anil M., exhibiting niiniicry : ch:ii:iri>-u/i'il by mimicry, 
us the flowers of certain orchids which resemble butter- 
flics. See mimicry, 3. 
In all these cases it appears that the mimetic species Is 
protected fruin ^mm enemy by its outward similarity to 
tin- form which it mimics. //. A. Xichnlton. 
Sft) In mineral., approximating; closely to that is, tmitat- 
ng other forms of a higher degree of symmetry. This 
characteristic usually results from twinning. For exam- 
ple, amgonile occurs in twin crystals which at first sight 
appear to be hexagonal in form. See pfeudotymmetry and 
torn. 
mimetical (mi-met'i-kal), a. [< mimetic + -al.] 
Same as mimetic. 
A dialogue In the old mimetical or poetic form. 
Bp. tturd, Foreign Travel, vli. 
mimetically (mi-met'i-kal-i), adv. In a mi- 
mi'tic manner; imitativeiy ; in the manner of 
a mime. 
Homer . . . wished to express mimeticaUy the rolling, 
thundering, leaping motion of the stone. 
De Qvineey, Homer, Ui. 
mimetism (mim'e-tizm), n. [< mimet-tc, q. v., 
+ -ism.] Same as mimesis, and mimicry, 3. 
mimetite (miin'e-tit), u. [<. Gr. uiiarriif, an imi- 
tator (see Minii-ti-.t), + -ite%.] Native arseniate 
of lead with chlorid of lead, a mineral of a 
yellow to brown color occurring in hexagonal 
prismatic crystals, often rounded. It Is Isomor- 
phons with pyromorphite, the phosphate of lead. Some 
varieties, as campylite, contain phosphoric acid, and hence 
are intermediate between mimetite and pyromorphite. 
Also called mimetesite, mimetcne. 
mimic (mim'ik), it. and H. [=F. miininne = 8p. 
luimieo = Pg. It. mimico, < L. mimiciig, < Gr. /"/" 
n6f, belonging to mimes, < /u^of, a mime : see 
mime.] I. a. 1. Acting as a mime; given to 
or practising imitation ; imitative: as, a mimic 
actor. 
Oft in her absence mimic Fancy wakes 
To imitate her I Id-asmi | ; but, niisjolulng shapes, 
Wild work produces oft, and most in dreams. 
Milton, P. L.,v. 110. 
2. Pertaining to mimicry or imitation ; exhib- 
iting, characterized by, or employed in simu- 
lation or mimicry; mimicking; simulating: as, 
the mimic stage ; mimic action or gestures. 
Eager to win laurels on the mimic theatre of war. 
Prencott, Ferd. and Isa., L 15. 
Let the mimic canvas show 
Her calm benevolent features. 
llri/ant. The Ages, ill. 
3. Consisting of or resulting from imitation; 
simulated; mock: often implying a copy or 
imitation: as, a mimic battle; the mimic roy- 
alty of the stage. 
Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls, 
That they might answer him. 
Wordmarth, There was a Boy. 
Down the wet streets 
Sail t hf ir mimic fleets. 
l.i'iK,if?Wiir, Rain in Summer. 
Mimic-flower beetles, an occasional name of the lagri- 
ida. 
II. n. 1. One who or that which imitates or 
mimics ; specifically, an actor. 
Anon his Thlsbe must be answered. 
And forth my mimic comes. 
Shot., M. N. D., 111. i 19. 
Every sort 
Of gymnick artists, wrestlers, riders, runners, 
Juglcrs, and dancers, anti.-ks, mummers, mimiaht. 
Milton, 8. A.,L 1325. 
2. An imitation; anything copied from or 
made in imitation of something else. 
mimic (mim'ik), v. t. ; pret. and pp. mimicked, 
ppr. miiiiii'l.-iiiii. [< mimic, a.] 1. To act in 
imitation of; simulate a likeness to; imitate 
or copy in speech or action, either mockingly 
or seriously. 
Vice has learned so to mimic virtue that It often creeps 
In hither under Its disguise. Steele, Spectator, No. 514. 
Mimic the tetchy humour, furtive glance. 
And brow where half was furious, half fatigued. 
Browning, Ring and Book, I. 203. 
2. To produce an imitation of; make some- 
thing similar or corresponding to; copy in 
form, character, or quality. 
Fresh carved cedar, mimicking a glade 
of pnlm and plantain, met from either side, 
High in the mi. W. Keats, Lamia, II. 
Leonardo studies the laws of light scientifically, so that 
the proper rounilness anil effect of distance should be ac- 
curately renilt'it'd. and all the subtleties of nature's smiles 
be mimicked. J. A. Symnmlt, Italy and lireece, p. 277. 
3769 
3. Specifically, in '. and hot., to imitate, 
simulate, or resemble (something else) in form, 
color, or other characteristic ; assume the char- 
acter or appearance of (some other object). See 
HI in' if f i/, :>. -=8yn. L Ape, Mock, etc. See imitate. 
mimicalKmiiu'i-kal), [< mimic +-/.] .Same 
as iiiimir. 
To some too, U they be far gone, inimical vesture* are 
too familiar. Hurton, Anat. of Met, p. 233. 
To make our mirth the completer. Sir J. Mlnnes was In 
the highest pitch of mirth, and his mimicaU tricks, that 
ever I saw, and most excellent pleasant company he Is. 
J-fpyt, Wary, II. 339. 
mimically (mim'i-kal-i), arfr. In a mimicking 
or imitative manner. [Rare.] 
Such are good for nothing but either mimically to Imi- 
tate their ntighlwurs' fooleries, or to Immerse themselves 
In a kind of lascivious and debauched living. 
South, Works, V. Ix. 
mimicalness (rnim'i-kal-nes), H. The quality 
of being inimical. [ Kn n-. I 
mimic-beetle (mim'ik-be'tl), . A coleopter- 
ous insect which feigns death when disturbed 
or alarmed, as some of the HMerida: and Bijr- 
rhidte. 
mimicker (mim'i-ker), . One who or that 
which mimics. 
mimicry (mim'ik-ri), .; pi. mimicries (-riz). 
[< mimic + -ry.] 1. The act of imitating in 
speech, manner, or appearance; mockery by 
imitation; simulation. 
Absolute princes, who ruin their people by a mimicry 
of the great monarch*. Hume, Essays, 11. 11. 
A few old men, the last survivors of our generation. . . . 
will remember . . . that exquisite mimicry [of Lord Hol- 
land's] which ennobled, instead of degrading. 
Macaulay, Lord Holland. 
2. An imitation; that which imitates or simu- 
lates. 
In France an Imitative school . . . has executed skilful 
mimicrict of ancient glass painting. Encyc. Brit., X. 673. 
3. In zoiil., the simulation of something else 
in form or color, etc. ; mimesis. Commonly called 
protective mimicry, from the Immunity secured by such re- 
semblance, as when the insect known as the walking-stick 
simulates a dead twig of a tree, when a butterfly assimilates 
in color to that of the flowers upon which it habitually 
feeds, or a bird's nest is so constructed as to resemble a 
bunch of moss on a bough, etc. Also mimctitm. 
Both mimicry and Imitation are |here| used In a meta- 
phorical sense, as implying that close external likeness 
which causes things unlike In structure to be mistaken 
(or each other. A. R. Wallace, Nat. Select., p. 75. 
mimic-thrush ( mim ' ik-thrush ) , n . A book-name 
of the mocking-bird, Minius polyglottus. 
Mimidae (mim'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Mimus + 
-idee.] The Mimina rated as a family of oscine 
passerine birds. 
MiminSB (mi-mi'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Mimus + 
-i<e. ] A subfamily of turdoia oscine passerine 
birds, typified by the genus Mimus; the mock- 
ers, mock-birds, or mocking-birds. The group is 
variously located in the ornithological system, being some- 
times placed In Turdida, sometimes associated wilh the 
wrens in Liotrichidce. and sometimes referred to the Tima- 
liida under the name of American babblers. These birds 
have a moderate (sometimes extremely long and bowed) 
bill, short wings, long rounded tail, and scutellate tarsi. 
Leading genera are Miinus, Harpnrhynchuf, Ortxcnjite*, 
Galeotcoptcs. Familiar examples are the mocking-bird, 
thrasher, and catbird. All are confined to America. See 
cuts under catbird and mocking-bird. 
mimine (mim'in), a. Of or pertaining to the 
ifimiiue. 
mimistt (tni'mist), n. [< mime + -ist.] A 
writer of mimes. 
Thereupon were called Poets Mimistit: as who would 
say, imltable and meet to be followed for their wise and 
graue lessons. Puttrnliam, Arte of Eng. Foesie, p. 21. 
mjmmation (mi-ma'shou), n. [< Ar. ), the 
name of the letter m, 4- -ation. Cf. mytacism.] 
The frequent use of the letter m ; specifically, 
the addition of m to a final vowel. 
The principal differences between these dialects (the 
Semitic Babylonian and the Semitic- Assyrian) are 1st, 
the use of mimmatinn by the Babylonians, and nut by the 
Assyrians ; thus the Babylonian words Sumlrlm and Akka- 
tlini were rendered by the Assyrians Sumiri and Akkadi. 
Eng. Encyc., Arts and Sciences, supp., p. 178. 
mim-mouthed (mim'moutht), a. [Sc. usually 
mim-mou'ed; < mim + mouthed."} 1. Reserved 
in discourse: implying affectation of modesty. 
I'm no for being mim-mou'rf, when there's no reason ; 
but a man had as gude, whiles, cast a knot on his tongue. 
The Smugglers, I. 164. (Jamiaon.) 
2. Affectedly moderate at table. Jamieson. 
mimographer (nu-mog'ra-fiJr). n. [Cf. F. mi- 
miiiini/ilii' = l't, r - mimoffranho; <L. miiiiogrniilnix. 
a writer of mimes, < Gr. uiao-jpa^of, writing 
initnes, < /u' ; uof, a mime, + ypajeiv, write.] A 
writer of mimes or fan-os. 
Mimus 
For the best Idea that can now be formed of the manner 
of this famous iniinixjrajilier we must have recourse, I be- 
lieve, to the fifteenth Idyl of Theocritus. 
Tuininy, tr. of Aristotle's Treatise on Poetry, I., note 0. 
Mimosa (mi-mo'sii), n. [NL. (Tournefort, 1700), 
so called from its imitating the aeiiHiliilily of 
animal life; < L. iiiininn, < Or. IUUGC., a luiniir: 
srr ///>, H.] I. A largegeuuHof ifgiiiiiiiiini- 
planta of the suljorder Mimoxcti- and the tribe 
IjiiKinutseie, characterized by a legume with m- 
tii-c or joiiiti-d valves which break away from 
a narrow persistent placenta. The plants are 
either herbs, erect or climbing shrubs, or sometimes trees, 
and are often prickly. The leaves are almost always blpln- 
nate, but rarely there are mine, or the expanded petiole 
(phyllodiurn) takes the place of the leaf ; and In many spe- 
cies the leaves are sensitive, closing when touched. The 
ttowers are small and sessile, usually having the stamens 
very much longer than the corolla; they are arranged In 
globular heads or in cylindrical spikes. About 280 spe- 
cies have been described, natives of the warmer parts of 
America and Africa, of tropical Asia, and of the Mascarene 
Islands. Many are cultivated, the most common being the 
sensitive-plant or humble-plant of hothouses, M. pudica, 
which Is a branching annual, one or two feet In height, hav- 
ing a great many small leaflets, all highly sensitive when 
touched. M. myriadenia Is a woody climber of tropical 
America, and Is remarkable for the great height which It 
attains, ascending to the tops of the tallest trees. 
2. [I. r.] A plant of this genus. 
For not Mimata'i tender tree 
Shrinks sooner from the touch than he. 
Scott, Marmlon, Ir., Int 
mimosa-bark (mi-mo'sS-bark), H. The bark 
of several Australian acacia- or wattle-trees, 
much used in tanning. 
Mimosese (mi-mo'se-e), n. pi. [NL. (A. P. de 
Candolle, 1825), < itimoxa T -'.] A suborder 
of leguminous plants, characterized by small 
regular flowers with a gamosepalous calyx, by 
having the petals valvate and often united be- 
low the middle, and by having stamens which 
are free or monadelphous. It embraces 6 tribes, 29 
genera, Mimom being the type, and about 1.R50 species, 
the majority of which are confined to the tropics. 
mimosite (mi-mo'sit), n. [< AfimoMi + -i7 2 .] 
A fossil seed-pod supposed to have belonged 
to a plant of the mimosa family. 
mimotype (mim'o-tip), n. [< Gr.^i>of, a mimic, 
+ ri'jrof, form.] In :onl. and :oiig<-oij., a type 
or form of animal life which in one country is 
the analogue or representative of a type or form 
found in another country, to which it is not very 
closely related. Thus, the American starlings (Ictcri- 
<te) are mlmotypes of the Old World starlings iffturnidir) ; 
the American genos Gcvmyt Is mimotypic of the African 
Gears/chug; the American juinping-mouse(apu>) replaces 
the jerboas (Diput) of Africa. 
Mimtitypes, forms distantly resembling each other, but 
fulfilling similar functions. . . . By the use of this term, 
the word "analogue " may be relieved of a part of the bur- 
den borne by it. Smitluonian llepart (1881), p. 46", note. 
mimotypic (mim-o-tip'ik), H. [< miniaty/ie + 
-ic.] Having the 'character of a mimotype. 
Mimuleae (mi-mu'le-e), it. ]il. [NL. (Bentham 
and Hooker, 1876), < Mimulun 4- -<'.] A sub- 
tribe of plants of the order tiiroplntlarineir and 
the tribe Gratioteir, characterized by a five- 
toothed calyx, by having the stamens inserted 
within the corolla-tube, with the anther-cells 
contiguous, and by a loculicidal capsule with 
two or four valves. The subtribe embraces (i 
genera, Minnilug being the type, and about 50 
species. 
Munulus(mim'u-lus), . [NL. (Linnaeus, 1753), 
so called from the resemblance of its corolla to a 
mask; < LL. mini /.-, a little mime, dim. of L. mi- 
ni HI : see /</'.] A genus of scrophulariaceous 
plants of the tribe Gratioletr, type of the subtribe 
Mimulea; characterized by a tubular calyx, win ch 
is almost always five-angled or five-toothed, by 
a two-valved capsule, and by having numerous 
seeds, with the placenta usually united to form 
a central column. They are reclining or erect, rare- 
ly tall, and slightly woody herbs, with opposite undivided 
leaves, and often snowy flowers, which are yellow, orange, 
red, violet, or rose-colored, and solitary In the axils of the 
leaves, or sometimes racemed at the tips of the branches. 
The species, numbering 45 or 50, are especially numerous In 
Pacific North America, but are also wldelj dispel seil i !- - 
where in temperate regions, though not In Europe. Pilots 
of the genus bear the general name of mnnlcey-floirer. H. 
ringciu and Jf. alatut, with violet purple flowers, are com 
mon species of wet places In the eastern I'nlted states. 
Various species are cultivated, chiefly in conservatories, 
some much prized. Among them are *. inocAa/, the 
musk-plant of gardens, strongly musk-scented, the flowers 
small and pale-yellow ; Jf. eardinalit, with large scarlet 
corolla ; and Jf. ffiutinonu, a shrubby, very ornament*! 
conservatory species, the flowers from salmon-colored to 
scarlet. 
Mimas (mi'mus), n. [XL., < L. ntetst, < Gr. 
fii/ioc, an imitator: see mime.] A genus of 
American birds of which the moi-king-binl. M. 
polyiflnttun, is the type. See mncki<i-l>inl, and 
cut under catbird. 
